Where do overseas Vietnamese apply for a marital status certificate?

Regarding this matter, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Where do overseas Vietnamese apply for a marital status certificate?

In case an individual who is a Vietnamese abroad wants to apply for a marital status certificate for the time they lived in Vietnam, they can do so in the following two ways:

Method 1: Authorize someone else to apply for a marital status certificate

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of Circular 04/2020/TT-BTP, in case an individual who is a Vietnamese overseas requests a single certificate, he or she can authorize another person to do so on his/her behalf.

Vietnamese authorization must be made in writing. If the authorized person is not the authorizing person's grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, child, wife, husband, brother, sister or sibling, the authorization document must be authenticated according to the provisions of law.

If the authorized person is the author's grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, child, wife, husband, brother, sister or sibling, the authorization document does not need to be authenticated according to the provisions of law.

According to this method, the authorizing person applies for a marital status certificate at the commune-level People's Committee where the citizen permanently resides before leaving the country.

Method 2: Apply for a marital status certificate online (Only applicable to citizens who have been issued a personal identification number)

Specifically, Vietnamese people abroad can carry out the procedure to apply for a marital status certificate online on the National Public Service Portal.

On the National Public Service Portal, Vietnamese individuals living abroad can request confirmation of their marital status during their permanent residence in Vietnam.

(According to point d, clause 1, Article 31 of Circular 07/2023/TT-BNG)

Power over online issuance of marital status certificate for overseas Vietnamese is specified in Article 30 of Circular 07/2023/TT-BNG. Thus, the representative mission in the consular region where a Vietnamese citizen resides shall issue a marital status certificate to that Vietnamese citizen to serve his/her marital purpose or other legal purposes.

However, this only applies to overseas Vietnamese who have been issued personal identification numbers. If not yet issued, citizens must contact the People's Committee of the commune where they previously resided to apply for a single certificate.

2. Procedures for issuance of marital status certificate for overseas Vietnamese

Also according to Article 31 of Circular 07/2023/TT-BNG, in case Vietnamese people abroad want to apply for a single certificate while abroad, they need to prepare an application for issuance of a marital status certificate including:

- The application form for issuance of marital status certificate (using the regulated form);

- The applicant shall submit copies of effective divorce papers if he/she has got married but divorced; if his/her spouse died, a copy of death certificate or document proving his/her spouse’s death must be submitted.

- A copy of extract from the divorce note shall be submitted if the application is in cases prescribed in Clause 1 Article 26 of Circular 07/2023/TT-BNG.

- If the application for issuance of a marital status certificate is to register the marriage at a competent authority of a foreign country, the following additional documents must be submitted:

+ The marital status certificate issued by the People’s Committee of a commune where the applicant who is a Vietnamese citizen has permanently resided before immigration if he/she was of marriageable age as referred to by regulations of the Law on Marriage and Family of Vietnam before immigration;

In case a Vietnamese citizen has his/her marriage registered before immigration but he/she gets divorce or his/her spouse dies while he/she is living abroad, a copy of death certificate or document proving his/her spouse’s death must be submitted.

+ Marital status certificates issued by representative missions in consular regions where a Vietnamese citizen has resided if he/she has resided in different regions.

If an applicant can not apply for marital status certificates issued by competent authorities in regions where he/she has resided, he/she must submit a written commitment on his/her marital status during his/her residence in those regions and shall assume responsibility before the law for his/her committed contents.

+ If an applicant who is a Vietnamese citizen and has been granted a personal identification number (PIN) has had his/her information updated on the national population database and a representative mission has used the shared electronic civil status management and registration software, they only need to submit the application form for issuance of marital status certificate.

The place to apply for a marital status certificate is at the representative mission in the consular region where a Vietnamese citizen resides.

Within 03 working days as of receipt of complete and valid application, the consul shall, on the basis of the civil status register and application kept at the representative mission, check the marital status of the applicant, record information in the register of marital status certificates, request the representative mission's head to sign and issue 01 original marital status certificate to the applicant if he/she finds that all requirements are satisfied and the application for issuance of marital status certificate is in conformity with the law regulations.

If a marital status certificate is issued to serve a purpose other than marital purpose, the number of marital status certificate issued shall be at the request of the applicant.

Within 03 working days as of receipt of complete and valid application, the consul shall, on the basis of the civil status register and application kept at the representative mission, check the marital status of the applicant, record information in the register of marital status certificates, request the representative mission's head to sign and issue 01 original marital status certificate to the applicant if he/she finds that all requirements are satisfied and the application for issuance of marital status certificate is in conformity with the law regulations.

If a marital status certificate is issued to serve a purpose other than marital purpose, the number of marital status certificate issued shall be at the request of the applicant.

If a person applying for reissuance of a marital status certificate to register the marriage but he/she fails to submit the marital status certificate previously issued, he/she must state reasons for the failure.

Within 03 working days as of receipt of the application, the representative mission shall submit a request to the Bureau of Consular Affairs for discussing with the place where the applicant intends to register the marriage for verification. In case of failure to verify or receive verification results, the representative mission will allow the applicant to make a written declaration of marital status.

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